“The Grand Tournament” Hearthstone’s New Expansion and Our First Impressions

Today Hearthstone released a free expansion called the “Grand Tournament” containing a whole new set of cards as well as a card ability called inspire. The Grand Tournament expansion is centered on the heroes as the new card ability called “inspire” is activated through the use of hero powers. So just how well does this new aspect of Hearthstone play into the existing game?

In a game as strategic as Hearthstone, game balance is critical and maintaining that balance is not to be overlooked. While my time spent playing with these new minions has been minimal; my experience with these new abilities has not been met with frustration. Inspire has added another nuanced strategy to Hearthstone to help players gain the upper hand in a match. This new game play mechanic now forces you to sit down and reconsider your hero selection and how it will mesh with your minions’ “inspire” abilities.

The new inspire abilities

As of now the new mechanic has not proven to be over powered. However, I can predict that some of the more useful hero powers, such as the mage’s fireball, used in tandem with an “inspire” deck could become a very powerful tool. As for the Grand Tournament, only time will tell how effective these new cards will be. In the mean time I will sit back and enjoy the fresh content.